Flexible Funding Model ? California's Infrastructure Maintenance for Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards and Rapid Response Team Project Summary/Abstract The mission of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Food and Drug Branch (FDB), Food Safety Section (FSS) is to ensure the safety of the food supply through effective prevention, intervention and response programs. As a means of accomplishing this mission, FDB has developed strong inspection and enforcement programs, industry education and training programs, and food emergency response programs. The primary objective of our proposal is to continue maintenance of California's best practices for a high-quality regulatory program to enhance food safety. This entails continued interagency collaboration, cooperation, and communication; maintenance and sustainment of conformance with the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS); maintenance and sustainment of California's Food Emergency Response Team (CalFERT) activities to food and feed emergencies, and continued strengthening, coordination and interactions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other states' food safety and RRT programs. Under this proposal, we are requesting $630,000 in grant funds for each of the next five years (Per year: $300,000 supporting MFRPS, $300,000 RRT, and $30,000 RRT Special Project). Authorized grant funds will be used to augment current FSS capabilities, and maintain the necessary infrastructure to continue sustainment of MFRPS and RRT. Under MFRPS, two dedicated staff members will work on maintaining the FSS's ability to conduct high-quality inspections and investigations to reduce the incidence of food contamination and ultimately foodborne illness associated with products manufactured and distributed within California. Under RRT, two dedicated staff members will work on maintaining and enhancing the program's ability to conduct investigations, assessments, tracebacks, and enforcement activities (utlizing Incident Command System and specialized trainings) resulting in a more efficient statewide human and animal food (HAF) protection system, maximizing public protection, and contributing to the long-term improvement efforts to the National Integrated Food Safety System. Grant monies will enable the FSS to continue its food regulatory program through regular/additional training and development of staff to increase skills and expertise; maintain efficiency and effectiveness of critical resources; maintain information sharing among federal, state and local agencies; maintain succession planning; and sustain full conformance with MFRPS and priorities of RRT Program 5 Year Plan throughout this grant period. These activities are detrimental to California's Food Safety Program and would have national repercussions as California is the nation's top agricultural producing state.